Skate lessons to the city

Abstract

This essay comprises the research "Urban Practice"
and explores skateboarding as an interventionist action in urban spaces, focusing on the architectural and urbanistic perspective in São Paulo. As a skateboarder and architect, I analyze normative ways of occupying the city, highlighting the reciprocity between skateboarding and urban space, taking this object as a potential tool for imagining alternative forms of occupation. Inspired by Herman Hertzberger, who critically addresses the functional design of urban spaces in his book “Lessons for Students of Architecture”, I aim to question the fluidity of the city by proposing a more playful approach to urban life through interventions that emphasize the importance of urban skateboarding. In doing so, I seek to bring this discussion closer to both the general public and the academic field of architecture and urbanism, suggesting that skateboarding can be a relevant theme for discussing the city itself and its occupation.